Device for Generating Water by Condensation of Ambient Moisture

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a device for generating water by condensation of the ambient moisture contained in the ambient air surrounding a thermally insulated sealed case housing a means for maintaining a low temperature. The invention also comprises a coil means which is divided into numerous segments, of which some pass through the interior of the sealed case and others extend externally around all sides thereof, such as to form a closed circuit with a receptacle containing an anti-freeze heat-transfer liquid. The invention further comprises a pulse pump which is disposed in the circuit, a cooler which cools the interior of the sealed case when the internal temperature rises and a turbine for driving air into the case. The assembly is enclosed in an external casing and is equipped with a tray for collecting the condensed water.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for generating water bycondensation of ambient moisture, which adds essential noveltycharacteristics and considerable advantages with respect to other meansknown and used to the same end in the current state of the art.

More specifically, the invention proposes the development of a circuitwhich, when operating in closed circuit, allows using the moisturepresent in the environment to condensate it and collect it as liquidwater in a container from where it can be used for various purposes. Thedevice uses the temperature difference resulting from the thermalgradient between a liquid that runs at a low temperature inside a closedcircuit provided by a coil with a predetermined path, driven by a pump,and the surrounding environment, to cause the condensation of the watervapour present in the air and precipitate it towards the place ofrecovery.

The field of application of the invention is in the industrial sector ofthe design and manufacture of devices operating in closed circuit, withspecific application to condensation of ambient moisture, designingfountains that use the water in a closed circuit and other similarinstallations.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that any environment contains a certain amount ofmoisture in the air that depends on factors such as geographicallocation or the time of the year. Ambient moisture simply consists ofwater vapour generated by water present in the surface of the Earth, sothat potentially it can be used for any purpose provided means areavailable for collecting it.

The applicant is not aware of the existence of other devices designed tocondensate the ambient moisture in order to make direct and immediateuse of the water obtained, whether on a household or industrial level.

For this reason, at times when water is scarce for various reasons, orin arid areas where water supply is generally low, it would beparticularly advantageous to have a device that allows obtaining waterby condensation of ambient moisture, and thereby satisfy basic needsthat are often hard to meet.

The main object of the present invention is to develop a device that canhelp to provide effective solutions to water scarcity or water supply bycondensation of ambient moisture wherever it is needed. This objectivehas been fully reached by the device described below, the maincharacteristics of which are discussed in the characterizing part ofclaim 1 below.

In essence, the device of the invention comprises means to make run in aclosed circuit a liquid at a low temperature, specifically ananti-freeze liquid, along a path determined by a coil with segmentshoused inside a hermetically sealed case that is thermally insulatedfrom the external environment, with pre-determined dimensions, and othercoil segments located outside this case, in the surrounding spacedelimited by the general case of the device. In this space the heatexchange takes place, leading to condensation of ambient moisture, andair is introduced from the outside to renew the ambient environment andprovide new moisture loads. This air may be introduced at ambienttemperature or a somewhat higher temperature. The temperature inside thehermetically sealed case is maintained at low values (generally valuesunder zero degrees) with the aid of a considerably large mass of iceenclosed in a mesh and formed from the moisture of the air introduced inthe case, thereby cooling the liquid that runs inside the correspondingcoil segments inside the case.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics and advantages of the invention will bemade clearer in view of the detailed description given below of apreferred embodiment, provided by way of an illustrative andnon-limiting example only, as well as the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an example of embodiment of a watercondensation device designed and built according to the teachings of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As stated above, the detailed description of the preferred embodiment ofthe object taught by the invention will be carried out with reference tothe schematic representation shown in the only FIGURE of the drawings.The various component parts or elements of the device have beenidentified by numerical references. In this sense, it can be seen thatthe device is constructed in general inside an outer casing 1,essentially closed but provided with one or more orifices to allow aircirculation with the external environment. The casing 1 is provided onits bottom base with a formation 2 by way of a receptacle for collectingand recovering the condensed water.

The operative parts of the device consist of a closed and sealed innercase with predetermined dimensions, insulated from its surroundings, thewalls of which incorporate a filler 3 of an appropriately thermalinsulation material, in order to maintain the value of the lowtemperature existing inside the case and prevent thermal exchangebetween the interior space of the case and the surrounding atmosphere.In addition to the aforementioned internal closed case a coil isdisposed consisting of several segments joined to one another to form asingle circuit inside which runs a cooled fluid. This coil includessegments 6 placed in different directions inside the sealed closed caseand other segments 5 placed outside the case, next to each of its walls,surrounding it completely. That is, there are segments 5 placed on bothsides, on the top, on the bottom, on the front and on the rear of thecase. In any case, the coil starts from a container 10 holding ananti-freeze heat-carrying liquid and returns to an inlet 11 of the samecontainer, thereby establishing a closed circuit, in which a drive pump9 is interposed meant to make the fluid run along the entire circuit. Inaddition, the invention foresees the coil to have several temperaturegauges such as thermometers 12 placed in several locations to allowknowing the temperature of the liquid circulating at several points ofthe coil.

As stated above, the temperature inside the sealed case is maintainedaround a predetermined low value with the aid of a cooling element 4,preferably consisting of an ice block with a predetermined mass formedinside a metal mesh that holds it in place. This cooling block isobtained from the moisture of the air inside the insulated box, forwhich purpose the device contains a turbine 8 to drive in air at ambientor slightly higher temperature, in order to renew the atmosphere andmaintain the supply capacity of an amount of air from which sufficientmoisture can be extracted to maintain the ice mass. It will beunderstood that, as internal losses are very small, the turbine 8 willoperate only occasionally, infrequently, which constitutes an essentialcharacteristic of the invention, as the accumulation of energy in theinterior allows a minimal external power consumption.

In addition, the internal hermetically sealed case is associated to anexternal cooling device powered by a motor 7, so that if an undesiredrise in the internal temperature is detected said cooling device willautomatically turn on, thereby ensuring that the ideal internalconditions for operating the assembly are maintained. Once again, itwill be understood that the cooling device will operate onlyoccasionally and infrequently, as the heat losses due to thermalexchange between the inside of the case and the internal coil segments 6is very small.

Having described the various elements that form part of the device ofthe invention, it will be understood that the assembly corresponds to asimplified conception with an intuitive and easy to understand operationfor an expert in the field.

Thus, with the cooling element 4 already obtained and formed inside theinsulated sealed case, the pump 9 will drive the antifreeze liquidobtained from the container 10 and make it run inside the various coilsegments 5, 6, respectively external and internal. As the liquid passesthough the internal coil segments 6, it is cooled and reaches theexternal coil segments 5, where it comes in contact with the ambient airsurrounding the sealed case, condensing the ambient moisture andprecipitating the water obtained towards the container 2 or collectionand recovery receptacle. The control exerted over the operation of theinstallation determines that the cold-generation means 7 and the means 8for driving air into the internal sealed case will be activated tomaintain the working conditions within the established margins. Thethermometers 12 control the temperature of the liquid that runs insidethe coil and provide additional information that is very useful formaintaining and conserving said working conditions.

It can be understood that there are many and varied possibleapplications for the device proposed by the invention. However, inaddition to simply obtaining ambient water when necessary or tocomplement water obtained from other supply sources, there is a typicalapplication that is specifically advantageous and with which should bespecifically mentioned. This is the construction of fountains in whichwater runs in a closed circuit, without losses and without the need tosupply water from any external source. As an additional characteristic,the invention can be applied to decorative fountains made withtransparent materials in which the water may also be dyed with acolorant in order to increase its appeal and the visual effect of theassembly on an observer.

Similarly, it can be seen that the assembly can be controlled manually,semi-automatically or by means allowing an appropriate computerizedmanagement.

It is not considered necessary to extend the contents of the presentdescription for an expert in the field to understand its scope andreproduce the embodiment.

Notwithstanding the above, and as the invention has been described onlyby way of example and based on an example of a preferred embodiment, itshall be understood that within its essence many variations of detailcan be included, also protected, which may specifically include theshape, size and/or materials used to manufacture the assembly or itsparts, without this representing any change in the essence of theinvention.

1. Device for generating water by condensation of ambient moisture,specifically the moisture contained in the air inside a space delimitedby the outer casing (1) of the device, for its collection and recoveryin a receptacle (2) placed on the bottom base of said casing,characterised in that it also comprises: an inner case, suitably sized,hermetically sealed and insulated by disposing on all of its walls andbases a filler (3) of thermally insulating material; a cooling element(4) placed inside said inner hermetically sealed case, basicallyconsisting of a mass of ice enclosed inside a metallic mesh, meant tokeep the temperature inside the case under predetermined temperaturelimits; a single coil that runs both outside and inside said innerhermetically sealed case, inside which coil runs an anti-freeze fluid,the coil being composed of inner segments (6) in which heat exchangetakes place in order to cool the liquid running inside them, and outersegments (5) in which heat exchange takes place with the air outside thesealed case in order to condense the moisture in said external air; acontainer (10) of antifreeze liquid at which the coil starts, with aninterposed pump (9) in charge of driving the liquid in the coil, thecontainer (10) being provided with an inlet (11) for the closed-circuitreturn of the last segment of the coil; several thermometric devices(12) interposed in several positions of the external segments (5) of thecoil, which provide information on the temperature of the liquid runningin said coil; and associated elements external to the sealed case, suchas a cold generation device driven by a motor (7) to ensure that apredetermined low temperature is maintained inside the internal sealedcase, and a turbine (8) for introducing air into said case, to ensurethe supply of an amount of air, whether at ambient temperature or at asomewhat higher temperature, to allow condensation of its moisture toconserve the cooling mass (4), both the cooling elements (7) and turbine(4) acting only occasionally in view of the ambient conditions detectedinside the aforementioned internal sealed case.